'Aid-in-dying' and the taking of human life.

نویسنده

  • C S Campbell
چکیده

In several US states, the legalisation of euthanasia has become a question for voters to decide in public referenda. This democratic approach in politics is consistent with notions of personal autonomy in medicine, but the right of choice does not mean all choices are morally equal. A presumption against the taking of human life is embedded in the formative moral traditions of society; human life does not have absolute value, but we do and should impose a strict burden of justification for exceptions to the presumption, as exemplified by the moral criteria invoked to justify self-defence, capital punishment, or just war. These criteria can illuminate whether another exception should be carved out for doctor-assisted suicide or active euthanasia. It does not seem, in the United States at any rate, that all possible alternatives to affirm the control and dignity of the dying patient and to relieve pain and suffering, short of taking life, have been exhausted. Moreover, the procedural safeguards built into many proposals for legalised euthanasia would likely be undone by the sorry state of the US health care system, with its lack of universal access to care, chronic cost-containment ills, a litigious climate, and socioeconomic barriers to care. There remains, however, common ground in the quest for humane care of the dying.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Elements of healthy death: a thematic analysis

Background: Death is a natural and frightening phenomenon, which is inevitable. Previous studies on death, which presented a negative and tedious image of this process, are now being revised and directed towards acceptable death and good death. One of the proposed terms about death and dying is “healthy death”, which encourages dealing with death positively and leading a lively and ...

متن کامل

legal aspects of end of life and end stage disease

Abstract:  Aims: End of Life (EOL) care providers potentially face by variety of legal and professional dilemma. This study is designed to review and analyze these challenges and approaches to solve them. Materials & Methods:   In this narrative review study, legal aspects of end-of-life care in subjects such as medical assisted dying, decision-making capacity and withdrawal of life-sustaining...

متن کامل

The Relationship Between Acceptable Noise Level and Initial Acceptance of Hearing Aid

Introduction: The Acceptable Noise Level (ANL) evaluates the willingness of a listener to hear a continuous speech in the presence of background noise. ANL is related to some variables. Although many studies were accomplished on the relationship between ANL and hearing aid satisfaction, no study was found for the usage of ANL as the predictor of initial hearing aid acquisition. Therefore, the c...

متن کامل

Survey on Satisfaction Level With Hearing Aid in the Daily Life of Elderly Hearing Impaired Population

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate satisfaction levels with hearing aids in daily life of older adult users, in addition to associated factors. Methods & Materials: In this cross sectional study, 32 subjects with moderate to severe sensory neural hearing loss (mean age; 63.5±9.8 Yrs) and different socio-economic status, referred to private practice audiology clinic (...

متن کامل

I-43: Scientific and Religious Controversies on The Beginning of Human Life- What Does 3D/4D Sonography Offer?

One of the most controversial topics in modern bioethics, science, and philosophy is the beginning of individual human life. In the seemingly endless debate, strongly stimulated by recent technologic advances in human reproduction, a synthesis between scientific data and hypothesis, philosophical thought, and issues of humanities has become a necessity to deal with ethical, juridical, and socia...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • Journal of medical ethics

دوره 18 3  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 1992